Big Leather Couch

You grow up being one of the better athletes in your hometown...
As you grow, your skills develop even more...
Colleges come visiting to see if you would like to attend and play your sport there while getting an education...
Most times, they pay the entire cost, or a majority of the cost...
As you reach your Junior/Senior year, professional scouts come to your games and begin to talk to you about your future...
The professional draft comes and you are selected and sign a professional contract, pretty much ensuring your financial future is safe...
You decide to blow the whole thing....for what? For a foolish pastime that you could live without if you really thought about it...

JEFF KENT - BASEBALL - JUST PRIOR TO 2002 SPRING TRAINING -
Kent had initially claimed that the wrist was broken while washing his truck; ensuing media reports indicated that Kent had crashed his motorcycle while doing wheelies, in violation of his contract.
"That's right boss, I was washing my truck and dang it all, i slipped on a sponge and broke my wrist...by the way, know anyone who wants to buy a motorcycle, slightly damaged?"


KELLEN WINSLOW II - FOOTBALL - OFF-SEASON 2005- Winslow was
injured in a motorcycle accident on May 1, 2005. His injuries were considered serious, but not life threatening. It was eventually determined that Winslow suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and was put on the Physically Unable-to-Perform (Non Football Injury) list for the 2006 season. Winslow also fought off a six-week staph infection that resulted from his knee injury.
"Gee, I had the bike for a whole 5 weeks, why shouldn't I be pulling wheelies in a parking lot?"

AARON BOONE - BASEBALL - OFF SEASON 2004 - Boone was cut from the Yankee roster after tearing a knee ligament during a pick-up basketball game played in violation of his contract with the Yankees.
"Look, I figured I hit a huge homerun against the red Sox the previous fall, why can't I play basketball...what? It is in my contract? Well..who reads those things anyway?"


JAY WILLIAMS - BASKETBALL - OFF SEASON 2003 - His life almost ended prematurely on June 19, 2003, when he crashed his motorcycle at the intersection of Fletcher and Honore in Chicago, Illinois. Williams suffered serious injuries to his pelvis and left knee and required physical therapy to regain the use of his leg. Many months later, after it was clear he would not be returning to the Bulls for some time (if at all), they waived him. The Chicago Bulls, under no obligation, did give Williams a $3,000,000 buyout.
"Man, the wind in my hair... the smell of rubber along the road... the sound of my head hitting the pole and pavement ...YES! I love riding motorcycles!"

BEN ROETHLISBERGER - FOOTBALL - OFF SEASON 2006 - He had seven hours of surgery Monday for facial injuries incurred in a motorcycle accident. Roethlisberger, 24, was not wearing a helmet when his 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa, which the manufacturer has called the fastest street-legal motorcycle on the market, collided with a Chrysler New Yorker that had turned in front of him as he rode through a busy intersection near downtown, the Pittsburgh police said. Various reports said that Roethlisberger had broken his jaw and nose, chipped or lost teeth and had multiple cuts on his head.
At 11:10 a.m., the police said, the car driven by a 62-year-old woman, who was not identified and who was not seriously injured, approached the intersection from the opposite direction and made a left turn. Roethlisberger's motorcycle hit the side of the sedan, throwing him into the car.
Roethlisberger will take his chances. He said there isn't any special reason for not wearing a helmet, calling it "a choice." "I think that's at your own discretion," Roethlisberger said. "Obviously, Pennsylvania doesn't think people need to."
"Well, the state says I don't have to, so I won't...I want to be Gary Busey when I grow up is all...isn't it special to aspire to be someone?"

Sorry folks, I just do not get it...millions upon millions of dollars tossed aside, and for what?
Jay Williams would be dead if not for his helmet....so let's give him credit for being a whole lot smarter then Ben Roethlisberger...

Keep that spark of insanity kids...It helps keep you an individual.

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